PLANNING APPLICATIONS & SUBMISSIONS

Planning applications can be a nightmare unless you know what you’re doing. It used to be a fairly simple process but over the past decade or two it has turned into a major obstacle course for homeowners which means that nowadays it is most certainly wiser to leave it to the professionals.

Just submitting plans for a small kitchen extension turns into a battle simply because you also have to submit a Design & Access statement along with a Thames Water plan to ensure you’re not building over their drains.

All planning applications submitted go through a validation check before they are accepted and unless you know what you’re doing it can take you weeks or even months just to have a planning application validated. Once validated, you are then looking at a further 6/8 weeks to have the plans approved or declined.

What most homeowners also don’t seem to realise is that you need to follow up once you submit plans as applications get assigned to a planning officer who may need questions answered before making a determination. They may also want to view the property so you really do need to have a direct contact number or email with the planning officer during the process so that you know what’s going on.

Neighbours also have a say so if you upset any of your neighbours with your proposed planning application it is likely to cause further delays. Far better to consult with any nearby neighbours beforehand to ensure that you have them onside rather than ending up with a big flare up because they complained to the planning officer.

GET IN TOUCH WITH T G NORRIS

If you have a project that requires design plans, building plans, detailed drawings, don’t hesitate to get in touch as we will be happy to provide a free no obligation quote for any project within the London M25.